Early Civilization
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
Two early civilizations developed along major rivers in the Middle East. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers supported the development of the Sumer civilization, while the Nile River supported the development of ancient Egypt. There are many similarities between the way these two early civilizations developed but there are also differences. Both shared similar geography but each developed their own social structure, religion, government and architecture.
The rich river valleys located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and along the Nile River were able to support large numbers of people. The land between and along these rivers provided fertile soil for early farmers who were able to grow a surplus of food to last the year. The animals that flocked to the rivers provided another source of food for the people who settled there and the rivers provided a supply of fresh water and allowed for the transportation of goods and people. Both civilizations learned to take advantage of the yearly flooding of the rivers each spring. While the Tigris and Euphrates were more unpredictable than the Nile, the waters of each soaked the dry desert soil and left rich deposits of silt. They learned to build dikes, reservoirs and irrigation ditches to control the floodwaters and store water for later uses...